Nine to Know: Advanced Spin from Preseason Events

March 23, 2022
Brandon Hall
Mid-Atlantic Executive Director

On January 29 and 30, during the preseason of the 2022 season, PBR ran the top preseason events in North Carolina, the Preseason All-State. These two dates saw close to 200 of the top players in North Carolina go through full workouts. For the hitters, TrackMan was used to measure ball flight off the bat. One of the measurements gathered is exit velocity.

Today we take a look at 9 uncommitted players from the two Preseason All-State events. Each of these pitchers showed well above average breaking balls at the event. The bullpen sessions had TrackMan tracking each pitch and giving our scouting staff a ton of advanced metrics on each pitch.

To put together this list, we are using PBR's new Pitch Score, from the breaking balls scored. Not every pitch records a score as each pitch has to record a level of metrics that is deemed to be appropriate and identifiable. For breaking balls, the scores developed and used by PBR are the Hammer Score and Sweep Score. You can learn more about each score by clicking on their links, and by following this link HERE to see about all Pitch Scores and their implementation.

Pitch scores are not a tool used to rank pitches, but a tool that gives scouts an idea on a pitch's movement, the suddenness of movement, and how hitters may approach a pitch. A score of 100 has been deemed the average score at the MLB level. The Pitch Score does take into account when a pitch moves, but it does not take into account all metrics on a pitch, so a high school player scoring 100 does not necessarily mean he has a MLB average pitch.

Hammer Score: We define hammer, metrically, as a breaking ball that drops vertically with velocity through the strike zone. Breaking balls with high Hammer metrics exhibit acceleration downward off the vertical plane. Our Hammer Scores simplify the way we evaluate vertical breaking balls objectively. The effectiveness of a breaking ball is very dependent on outside factors, including location and pitch repertoire. In general, breaking balls with a higher Hammer Score are more difficult to hit than breaking balls with a lower one.

Sweep Score: Sweep is defined as a breaking ball that sweeps horizontally with velocity through the strike zone. A higher Sweep Score has the potential to generate more swings and misses, especially when paired with complementary fastball movement characteristics that create a movement gap between the fastball and breaking ball. We now have a simple way to objectively compare breaking balls with sweep characteristics between levels. The Sweep Score helped shape our Sweep+ stat that will normalize the pitch action across an entire level. The effectiveness of a fastball is very dependent on outside factors including location and pitch repertoire. In general, breaking balls with a higher Sweep Score are more difficult for the batter to square up.

North Carolina Rankings: 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025

Recent Events: Preseason All-State East | Preseason All-State West | NC ProCase

Nine to Know

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